TIMES, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2014 • 60 My Say N, R, G and 7 lines are overcrowded and often shut down due to needed upgrades. Bus service is inadequate, and a multimodal connector to the East Side Access Project must be addressed as well. • Our community has few health facilities, an antiquated police precinct and inadequate fire and sanitation services. Extensive resources would have to be added before our community could absorb any large infusion of new residents. • Long Island City has thousands of important jobs in the auto, transportation, food, film, cultural, tech and manufacturing industries. These need to be maintained, not pushed out. • Our schools have long been among the most overcrowded in the city. Many students attend classes in trailers. Obviously, this has to be resolved for current residents who are now fighting for pre-K, elementary and middle school seats. We need a plan that recognizes that thousands of us—from Sunnyside Gardens to Hunters Point, from Dutch Kills to Ravenswood—have already chosen western Queens for our homes, businesses, education and creative community. We are not going away just because the big boys in Manhattan have decided to tear down the Javits Center and develop luxury housing on the far West Side. It is not NIMBY to say that our community will not support proposals if we have no say in their development. Those of us, who decided to live, work and love our neighborhoods with the Sunnyside Yards as they currently exist must be included in any plans. * * * Editor’s note: Assemblywoman Nolan represents the 37th Assembly District, which includes areas of Ridgewood, Long Island City, Maspeth, Sunnyside, Woodside and Astoria. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 4- City Advances On Wi-Fi Network -CONTINUED FROM PG. 9- network connection in the country. The network will prevent peer-to-peer security threats by eliminating device-to-device communications. This will protect users’ information better than ever before. The first 400 Links will start being installed in 2015 and the first structures will be operational by year’s end. All of this will be done at zero cost to taxpayers. The Links are stated to generate “a guaranteed revenue of $500 million over he next 12 years,” de Blasio said, which will fund the creation and installation of the 10,000 Links for all five Another Big Grant For QueensWay the QueensWay located in Rego Park. This portion of the 47-acre railway will maintain and feature a large number of mature trees, bioretention basins along with other green infrastructures that can absorb large amounts of rain water. There will also be a naturethemed adventure playground and access paths to adjacent streets. Marc Matsil, TPL’s New York director said the QueensWay will, “boost local businesses, provide safe access to recreation; will provide alternative transportation choices.” Travis Terry of the Friends of the QueensWay said, “this grant represents an important step forward in our efforts to build New York’s next great park.” The Friends of QueensWay is a community organization who advocate for the conversion of the Rockaway Rail Line. Although the project is getting support from government officials, community groups and economic councils, there is still a large number of residents of the involved communities that are opposed to the creation of the QueensWay, making this a divisive issue throughout Queens. Many residents believe a new park is not what the community needs, but reusing that railway for more mass transit opportunities would be better suited for Queens. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 3- boroughs. City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer said, “high-speed broadband will drive our City’s economic competitiveness in the 21st century.” Not only will these hubs bring in revenue for the city, but they will also create jobs. According to the LinkNYC website, CityBridge has committed to having a facility for local production in New York City. This program is projected to create 100 to 150 new full-time jobs in manufacturing, technology and advertising, as well as an estimated 650 support jobs. VISIT US ON THE WEB! www.timesnewsweekly.com Homeless Crisis Tops JPCA’s Latest Meet question at the hearing,” he stated. According to Hevesi, hotels used to house the city’s homeless are known as “cluster site shelters.” Cluster site shelters were created under the Bloomberg administration as a way to curb rising shelter populations. “Mayor Bloomberg was tough on the homeless, like a businessman would be,” Hevesi explained, “First, he made the shelter requirements much higher. Second, he started using our money to pay for-profit entities, like hotels, to house people.” One of the consequences of cluster site shelters is the lack of on-site social services for homeless residents. “These shelters are the worst policy,” Hevesi stated. “it was costing us money and we weren’t using homeless shelters the way we should, which is as a transition to get them out into a good home.” According to Hevesi, city representatives declared under oath at the recent hearing that cluster site shelters were being phased out and called the practice “a horrible policy of the last administration.” Hevesi vowed to “keep watch” to make sure the city adheres to their word. Immigration & wages Another resident voiced concerns regarding the mass influx of nearly 90,000 illegal immigrant children across the country’s southern border seven months ago. When asked how many of these children were currently in city shelters, Hevesi was unsure of the exact number, but insisted that this influx was not the cause of the state’s ongoing homeless crisis. Hevesi explained that the children who recently entered the U.S. illegally were actually fleeing violent homelands. “These are not regular kids,” Hevesi stated. “They’re kids who are brought by their parents to flee countries where there is murder, strife, killing and civil war. I understand that many don’t want to pick up that burden, but those kids were coming here because there was a good chance that they were going to get slaughtered.” When asked about job creation as a possible solution to the homeless crisis, Hevesi stated that he was in favor of increasing the minimum wage. “What we have now is a whole new class of working poor,” he explained. “These are people who work full time jobs and can’t afford to pay their rent.” While Hevesi favors a wage increase, he does not support the $15 figure many are asking for, as it may be unfair to small business owners. “We have an income disparity problem, but you have to strike a balance,” he added. One man’s rage A fiery debate erupted between one resident and Hevesi while discussing the proposed Glendale homeless shelter. The resident, who wished to remain anonymous, accused Hevesi and other elected officials of helping to create the crisis. “You’re the cause of the problem,” the man argued. “This whole homeless thing is the fault of the judges, politicians and lawyers.” Hevesi responded with shock and dismay to these accusations: “In the past year, has there been anyone who stood up more against this shelter than I have? Any elected official or anyone in this room? The very idea that when we are in a crisis, not only as a city but as a community, that your response is to point fingers is outrageous. The only way to get through this is to problem solve together.” The coalition speaks Members of the Glendale Middle Village Coalition took to the stage to update residents on the ongoing lawsuit and fundraising efforts to block the proposed homeless shelter at 78- 16 Cooper Ave. on the Glendale/Middle Village border. Coalition member and Glendale resident Dawn Scala voiced concerns over tax payer dollars being used in for-profit shelters. Scala estimates that nearly half of the cost to build and maintain Samaritan Village will go directly into property owner Michael Wilner’s pockets. “We’re not against helping the homeless,” Scala explained, “but it needs to be done in the right way.” Scala also advocated for greater transparency among city agencies. “One of the things that needs to be done to address the problem of getting people out of shelters is for city agencies to coordinate better,” she added. Glendale attorney Fred Haller and GPOA President Brian Dooley echoed these concerns. Haller and Dooley reminisced about the longtime friendly competition between the two parishes’ basketball teams. “Our Lady of Hope and Sacred Heart have always had a great rivalry and great matchups,” Dooley recalled. “But now, as communities, Middle Village and Glendale are coming together to fight this shelter.” According to Haller, the Coalition only has one legal action in progress—the Article 78 procedure—but may begin other actions in the near future. “Conventional means, like letter writing, have not helped,” he stated. Haller explained that the coalition’s legal team might consider pursuing “multiple legal actions” simultaneously, a prospect that could cost upwards of $100,000. Dooley stated that the coalition has raised $71,500 as of Dec. 5, including 461 individual donations and $8,000 from October’s Yerman’s Pub fundraiser. He credited a “broad base of support in both communities” for the coalition’s success, including civic associations, chambers of commerce, residents and business owners. Yet, despite their success, Coalition members stated that additional funds are needed to pursue future legal actions. “There’s power in all of this,” Dooley stated, “This is our fight.” * * * For more information on the next Juniper Park Civic Association meeting, visit www.junipercivic.com or call 1- 718-651-5865. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 6-
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